JERSEY CITY, NJ…New Jersey City University freshman right fielder PATRICIA DURNING (Keasbey, NJ/Woodbridge) has been selected as the Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Co-Rookie of the Year, and she joins junior pitcher AYANA ABDUL-RAHEEM (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) and freshman shortstop VANESSA SOLARES (Palisades Park, NJ/Palisades Park) as First-Team All-WIAC selections for the 2004 softball season.
NJCU (11-24) won the 2004 WIAC Championship, its first as a member of the alternate women’s athletic conference, with a 7-1 regular season record, and advanced to the title game of the WIAC Tournament.
Durning batted an even .500 in eight WIAC games with a .515 on-base percentage and .667 slugging clip as the leadoff hitter. In league play, she collected 15 hits, including five doubles, scored 12 runs to lead the team, and amassed 20 total bases with four steals.
Overall for the season, she led NJCU in hits (30), runs (22), doubles (6), triples (2), steals (13), and was third in RBIs (13) with a .286 average while starting all 35 of the Gothic Knights’ games.
Ayana Abdul-Raheem was named First-Team All-WIAC, as the power pitcher went 7-1 on the mound in the league with a 1.59 ERA and eight complete games in 48.1 innings of work. She fanned 36 and walked only 18. Her opponents batted .241 against her with 45 hits, of which only six were of the extra-base variety. She tossed one shutout, and overall allowed 11 earned runs (19 total). She was also selected to the WIAC All-Tournament Team, along with NJCU junior left fielder JENNIFER ZIELINSKI (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) and sophomore second baseman KRISTY SKOWRONSKI (Bayonne, NJ/Holy Family Academy).
Overall for the year, Abdul-Raheem went 11-22 games for the Knights, playing in 33 of 35 games. She tossed 187.2 innings in that span, including 31 complete games, with 118 strikeouts and 104 walks.
Solares was named First-Team All-WIAC as she batted .423, with a .464 on-base and .692 slugging percentage. She led the team with nine RBIs in the eight WIAC games. She had 11 hits and 18 total bases, with seven runs, four doubles, and a homerun. She made just one error at shortstop in 29 chances for a stellar .967 fielding percentage.
Overall this season, she led the team with 17 RBIs, was second with 10 steals, and third in batting with a .273 average. She tallied 24 hits and five doubles, and made just 14 errors while starting all 35 of NJCU’s games at one of the most difficult defensive positions. Her average with runners in scoring position was .452 (14-for-31), and she batted .533 (24-for-45) when she had the opportunity to advance runners. She hit at a .382 clip (13-for-34) with two outs.
